title: Gray matter volume decrements in preterm children with periventricular leukomalacia.
abstract: Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is the prototypic lesion in the encephalopathy of prematurity. Although PVL is identified by targeting cerebral white matter (WM), neuropathological and MRI studies document gray matter (GM) loss in cortical and subcortical structures. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of GM changes in children with a history of premature birth and PVL. Voxel-based morphometry was used to examine regional GM abnormalities in 22 children with a history of preterm birth and PVL. Preterms with PVL were compared with 22 terms and 14 preterms without PVL of similar GA and birth weight. GM and WM global volumetric volumes were found to decrease in comparison with both control groups. Regional GM volume abnormalities were also found: compared with their term peers, preterm children with PVL showed several regions of GM reduction. Moreover, PVL differed from preterms without PVL in the medial temporal lobe bilaterally, thalamus bilaterally, and caudate nuclei bilaterally. In addition, in our preterm sample with PVL, birth weight showed a statistical significant correlation with decreased GM regions. In conclusion, the voxel-based morphometry methodology revealed that PVL per se does involve GM reductions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Spain.
authors.forename: Leire
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zubiaurre-Elorza
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soria-Pastor
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Junque
authors.forename: Dolors
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Segarra
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bargalló
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mayolas
authors.forename: Camila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romano-Berindoague
authors.forename: Alfons
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Macaya
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000465:Algorithms; D001724:Birth Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male